The Jets cut Pace, an outside linebacker, with one year remaining on his six-year $42 million contract, which the Jets gave him when he joined the team in 2008. Because he was due to count $11.6 million against the salary cap in 2013, and he had just three sacks in 2012, it was a no-brainer for the Jets to release him.

Pace tested the free agent market, but wound up re-signing with the Jets. He got a one-year veteran minimum contract, which paid him $940,000 in base salary, plus a $65,000 signing bonus. Pace, who turned 33 years old in October, needed to prove he still belonged in the NFL, or 2013 might have been his final season.

Pace spent the offseason focusing on what he called “some deficiencies in my game” – in particular, pass rushing. Then he went out and accumulated 10 sacks, the most of his 11-year career. While Pace was the first to admit that he benefited from the attention paid to the Jets’ formidable defensive line, Pace was unquestionably more productive in 2013. He proved he still belonged.

The Jets rewarded Pace on Sunday by re-signing him to a two-year, $5 million deal, a league source confirmed. Pro Football Talk first reported the re-signing.

Pace’s re-signing came on the same day that free agent cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie extended his Sunday visit with the Giants into Monday, after he visited with the Jets on Saturday.